The present invention relates to a thin sheet of tabbed tracing paper, vellum, tissue paper or similar material inserted in a book to allow a user to highlight, mark or annotate a passage in the book without having to mark the actual page.
While reading or researching a book or other type of document, it is often desirable to make notes or highlight particular passages throughout the book or document and to be able to flip between the different annotated pages. For example, a student may find it helpful to make notes in the margins of a textbook or highlight particular paragraphs. It would be highly preferable if this could be done without permanently marking or damaging the pages. For instance, the prices of college textbooks have created a market for used textbooks and a less marked-up textbook would have a higher resale value. The present invention permits a user to annotate a textbook without negatively affecting its physical condition. The annotating can occur in the context of a real-time lecture in addition to other contexts such as regular reading or study sessions.
It is sometimes also desirable for multiple persons to review and annotate multiple pages in a large document, such as a group review of a report or a group Bible study, without physically damaging the source document. Preferably, there should be a quick and easy way to annotate multiple pages in the document, index the notes, and flip to between the multiple inserts.
Transparent overlay devices have been known for some time in the art, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,450,261; 1,510,110; 2,791,040; 3,324,823; 5,029,899 and 5,388,861. These prior art devices typically consist of a transparent overlay permanently or semi-permanently attached to the cover or bindings of the book or document. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,040 discloses a single sheet of transparent acetate placed over a map to allow a navigator to chart a course without marking the map. The acetate sheet is part of an erasable pocket on the exterior of a map folio holding the map or drawing. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,510,110 teaches a hinged transparent sheet attached to a map guide, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,450,261 discloses a book with tracing paper attached to the outer edge of the book cover which folds over the pages of text. These transparent overlays are limited in that they are part of bulky covers or document holders and are only used with the books or maps placed within the holder or cover. These devices are not convenient to use if a reader wants to annotate multiple books or documents, or multiple pages within the same book or document while retaining the previous notes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,984 discloses memo marking tabs which can be easily inserted into a document. These marking tabs, however, are made from heavy gauge paper making them non-transparent. While non-transparent inserts still allow for notes to be placed in the document, they cover the printed information on the page. Additionally, inserts made from heavy gauge paper significantly increasing the thickness of the document if multiple tabs are used.
What is needed is a device for easily annotating or highlighting one or more pages of printed material without leaving permanent marks while still allowing the printed material to be seen and read. It is also desirable for the notes or highlights to be easily removable, reattached or stored for future reference.